CH. 28 Social Cognition and Theory of Mind

Question 1

Theory of Mind

Answer 1

the ability to predict
and interpret the observable behavior of other agents in terms of their underlying psychological states, such as their beliefs, desires, emotions, and intentions.

Question 2

module

Answer 2

a class of cognitive mechanism associated with a cluster of properties, including domain specificity; automaticity; fast processing, limited central accessibility; informational encapsulation; “shallow” outputs; a fixed neural architecture;
characteristic and specific breakdown patterns; and innateness

Question 3

nativism

Answer 3

the view that innate, genetically based mechanisms, concepts, or processes are required in order to explain the presence of a particular cognitive
ability.

Question 4

domain general

Answer 4

domain-general mechanisms operate similarly across a broad
range of inputs, such as associative learning and statistical inference. Associative learning, for example, functions similarly whether one is learning about inanimate objects, speech sounds, or the behaviors of other agents.

Question 5

domain specific

Answer 5

domain-specific mechanisms are specialized cognitive systems
that only process certain kinds of functionally defined inputs. For example, some neuroscientists have argued that the fusiform gyrus contains a specialized face detection mechanism known as the fusiform face area

Question 6

epistemological holism

Answer 6

in this context, refers to the epistemic connectedness that
holds within a person’s total set (or “web”) of beliefs. A belief-formation system is holistic when all of a person’s beliefs are, in principle, relevant to the formation and confirmation of any given belief

Question 7

scripts or schmata

Answer 7

long-term memory structures that help us to efficiently categorize, respond to, and store information about different situations, events,
or individuals.

Question 8

mindshaping

Answer 8

an alternative to mindreading-based theories of social cognition
that emphasizes the ways in which human beings exert social influence on other people in order to make them make them more predictable.